KMP expressway, with access to Gurugram, Faridabad and Palwal, emerges as preferred drug route for NCR

A truck carrying 500 kilograms of marijuana was seized in the wee hours of Wednesday on Kundli-Manesar-Palwal (KMP) Expressway, which has become a favoured route

A truck carrying 500 kilograms of marijuana was seized in the wee hours of Wednesday on Kundli-Manesar-Palwal (KMP) Expressway, which has become a favoured route for city-based drug peddlers, the police said. The truck driver was allegedly smuggling the contraband to Rohtak, routed through Punjab.

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The contraband was stuffed in 29 gunny bags that were covered by stacks of fodder. Police pegged the worth of the seized marijuana at ₹50 lakh in the international market. The suspect was identified as Sunil Kumar, of Gulawad village in Hodal.

KK Rao, Faridabad’s commissioner of police, said that the suspect is just one of the suppliers and the kingpin is yet to be identified. “The suspect and his partner, who is absconding, have been in the narcotics trade for the last 10 years. He has never been arrested but his partner has been jailed several times. He has revealed the names of the seller and suppliers, which will help us zero in on the kingpin,” he said.

Rao said they had opened a fodder shop and used to hide the drug consignment among stacks of fodder. “They used to sell one pouch of 10 grams (of the contraband) for ₹100. They packed the pouches at their room in the village. They have earned more than ₹2 crore in the past three years and are the only suppliers in the area. They have bought several properties in Palwal and Hodal with the profits,” said Rao.

While this is the first time Kumar has been arrested, his partner, identified as Saleem, is missing. During preliminary questioning, it was revealed that he had gone to Manipur to smuggle a consignment of synthetic drugs.

The police said that having analysed over 200 cases of drugs seizures from January 1 to September 30, it has emerged that most of the consignments were smuggled from Manipur, Punjab, Bihar, Rajasthan, Uttarakhand, Haryana and Jammu & Kashmir.

Rao said that the KMP Expressway is presently the most favoured route for drug peddlers and at least 11 people were arrested from this stretch over the last two months. There are 10 exit and entry points connecting Gurugram, Faridabad and Palwal, and they are making use of all of these points.

“The syndicate is active on the stretch and even changes vehicles to escape the police scanner. We have also deployed informers to help us identify the vehicles. We have deployed teams in civil dress on the KMP for checking vehicles. The peddlers are using the 135.6-kilometre stretch between Palwal and Kundli to supply drugs to Haryana and Delhi-NCR,” he said.

Navdeep Singh Virk, additional director general of police (law and order), said they have formed dedicated anti-narcotics cells in each district, range and the state level to combat the drug menace. Officers have been specially chosen for these cells, which are monitored closely, Virk said. “Information given by the public and other intelligence inputs are diligently followed up to catch the kingpins involved in the crimes. We have been able to make huge seizures of narcotics this year,” he said.

According to the police, 268 people have been arrested from Gurugram, Faridabad and Palwal this year and 270 cases registered under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act across police stations in these cities. Last year, around 128 cases were registered under NDPS Act and 128 persons were arrested.